education

Teens at Newport Art Museum

MuSE : Museum Studies Experience

Practice Represent Experience Prepare

Arts education at Newport Art Museum is over 100 years old and rooted in the mission of the institution. In 2003, we imagined a partnership with regional schools to deliver funded arts curriculum, aligned to state standards, utilizing community resources to add value to the partnering school programs of study.

MuSE: Museum Studies Experience, our school to career program for high school students, is the result of that initiative.

MuSE is an application based 12-week museum career-development and training program for high school juniors and seniors, eligible to all RI high school students with demonstrated interest in pursuing a Museum Career. Each cohort of MuSE students will be actively engaged in NAM initiatives and learn through participation skill sets required to work in this field. Participants explore museum careers and serve as advisors in the development of teen audience initiatives at Newport Art Museum while working alongside museum staff planning and executing public programs.

By becoming part of a network of peers, mentors, guest lecturers and museum professionals, teens are immersed in the Museum and come to understand the institution’s role as the premiere “Arts Campus” serving Newport County and the surrounding region. The approach of school-to-career mentorship promotes lifelong engagement with art and culture and develops and prepares participants to be the next generation of museum professionals, membership and audience.

"MuSE provides an awareness of the numerous professional opportunities within this multi-faceted field. These students will carry with them an understanding that it takes many people to make an organization run - no matter what field of study or career path they pursue."